Introduction
San Francisco is about to have a reduced congestion in terms of parking. This is to be achieved through installation of about 5,000 smart parking meters. The meters have the capability of accepting payments from debit cards, credit cards, parking cards and use of coins. This measure is likely to increase the efficiency of the parking stations and avoid corruption cases as humans are not directly involved with cash. The parking meters can also check the availability of space so one can easily ascertain space availability before entering the parking station.
With the implementation of congestion parking, prices will fluctuate depending on the density of vehicles which need to be parked. A concept of off-peak and peak hour parking is to be used. When parking demand is high, parking fees will rise and when the demand is lower, parking fee is likely to reduce. It is a common practice that most citizens will be willing to park in the morning hours and few willing to park late in the evening and night as most people will be headed home from work at this time. The parking meters are programmed so that they charge different rates depending on the time and the day of the week. The amount charged is to range from 2 to 6 dollars depending on the time of the day. The parking meters are programmed to accept 6 dollars in the early morning hours when a large number of people are willing to park as they go to work. The amount charged reduces progressively as the day progresses until it is only two dollars in the evening. Citizens will thus be discouraged from bringing their vehicles to the city when they are going to work in the morning. The new idea to be implemented here include: the mode of programming the parking meter whereby time is used as a variable when calculating the amount of parking fee to be charged. The amount charged is dependent on the day of the week. The amount charged during weekends is slightly lower than that charged during week days – a dollar cheaper at any given time of the day.
The congestion parking has a major advantage of reducing traffic density and thus ease movements of motorists. Residents will be more comfortable as the number of cars just clogging the streets will be reduced. However, the main reason for congestion parking is not to reduce the number of cars in the streets but to optimize the use of the parking.
The trial results which have been used have shown encouraging results. Most people which include the citizens and bus owners prefer this method as it makes parking easier to allocate and hence very convenient. The congestion parking is also likely to induce more public transit and hence a reduction in the amount of air pollution which is caused by the moving cars.
The congestion parking is one of the best innovations to be introduced in San Francisco. Apart from improving the quality of parking services and the conveniences that come with it, it also helps the government to optimize collection of parking fees. The congestion parking also has the advantage of ensuring that the environment is protected from noise harmful fumes which might be emitted in the air by the numerous cars in the streets.
However, every good thing that can ever happen to a country or a city, there must be some negative impacts that come alongside it. The congestion parking to be introduced here has a disadvantage especially to motorists. The public are the major beneficiaries but business people are on the receiving end of the negative effects.
The implementation of congestion parking has a lot of economic importance to San Francisco as it aids in the proper collection of revenue by the government and maintenance of law and order on the roads.
Work Cited List
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London, Jack. The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London. Collier’s, the National Weekly.
Richards, Rand. History San Francisco: A Concise History and guide. Heritage House.
Wiley, Peter Booth. National Trust Guide San Francisco: America’s guide for architecture and History travelers. 2000
